Valentine Pillowcases

I am so busy working on the second quiet book of the year (Cambria's) but I did squeeze in some time for the kids' Valentine pillowcases.

Left: JC's and Trinity's. Right: Braden's, Addie's, Corinne's, and Whitney's.

Braden wanted to match JC, and Addie asked to be the same as Trinity. Corinne asked who she could match, and her siblings suggested Cambria. I won't make that one until next year, but I'll try to get the same fabric again.

Julie Likes It!

Emily sent me these pictures today of Julie with her quiet book.

 She is loving on the puppy that's on the first page.

 The puppy has soft fur to stroke.

Awwwwww! Makes all the hours I put into it worthwhile!

Julie's Quiet Book - Finished!

Snow days are sew days, and I was lucky enough to have four of them this month. That enabled me to complete Julie's quiet book in time for her birthday.

I always try to have the quiet book reflect the child and the family. With that in mind, I wanted to incorporate Emily's Swedish heritage with a dala horse cover. (It also reflects my love of horses!) I could not find ANY fabric with dala horses despite lengthy internet searches. I did find on Etsy a Russian woman who sewed tablecloths, and she had one with a dala print. (Bonus - some of the horses were orange!)

So, I took a big gulp and ordered a small tablecloth FROM RUSSIA which I proceeded to cut up for the cover. (Kind of a shame as her sewing was beautiful!)

 I also made a small pillow for Julie from the leftover fabric.

The cover page features an appliqué dog with an orange ribbon bow. The ribbon is from Cole and Emily's wedding.

 The apple tree reflects my family's heritage of owning and operating an apple orchard for nearly fifty years. The elephant has an Illini-orange bucket with Julie's initial (in Illini-blue) on it.

The dress up dresses come from scraps of clothes I've made for my kids. My mom had the idea of buzzing bees around the flower vase.

 She also drew the small pumpkin. Rock Star Kangaroo reflects Cole's work in the music industry.

I designed the monkeys jumping on the bed (a mishmash of Caps for Sale and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.) Emily's sister, Cathy, knitted the scarf for the snowman using my mother's design and instructions. I love that the book has several people important to Julie take part in its creation!

 The Illini-orange tipi has Chief Illiniwek inside. My mother drew the chief's story for it. And Katie Caterpillar, an old family favorite, reflects Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was the theme of Julie's birthday party!

Finally, since Cole served his mission in Russia, I added some matryoshka fabric for the last page, also an old family favorite. I bought enough of it so that, should Julie get a brother or sister in the future, I can use it for that baby's quiet book cover.

Julie Opens Her Quiet Book -

Cole and Emily saved the quiet book for Julie to open last. There were a LOT of distractions that were calling her name, but Cole was able to get her attention.

 He shows her the pillow made from the same fabric as the cover.

 Look! A puppy to pet! Such soft fur!

 Apples in a basket and Jumbo the elephant.

 Picking the flowers (note that she went for the orange one!)

 Changing the pumpkin's mouth (Cole called the other mouth a mustache!)

Two special pages - monkeys (designed and drawn by me) and the snowman with the scarf knitted by Julie's Aunt Cathy.

 She'll figure out how to untie and tie it!

 Looking for Chief Illiniwek inside the tipi.

The Russian matryoshka fabric represents Cole and his mission to Yekaterinberg.

I really enjoyed sitting back and watching her open my gift. All those hours spent cutting and sewing and coloring and tracing were so worth it!

Jessica's Thanksgiving Table Runner

Jessica wants to make a Thanksgiving table runner that she will add family handprints to as the years pass. She found one at Hobby Lobby but it was very plain, so she asked me to add trim to it.

 I think it looks much better, and can't wait to see what it looks like when the handprints are added!

Stockings 2014

These are the stockings that I have made for the quads to use when they are here for Christmas! (Whitney is not coming, but hers is cut and sewn; it just needs to be trimmed with pompoms.)

Cambria's, Ian's, and Julie's.

Stockings from Christmas Past!

I have never documented the stockings I sewed for people as they joined our family, and as I prepare to begin the next batch for the quads, I feel a need to do so now. (If for no other reason than to keep track of which one belongs to who!)

 Todd's (it is not here - I think Sarah has it in Colorado.)

 JC's and Trinity's. I also made Sarah a tablecloth out of the fabic of JC's. Love it!!

Ashley's, Braden's, and Addie's. I am especially fond of Ashley's since she is our Texas girl.

Andrew's infamous "Guy on a Buffalo" and Emily's (reminds me of Sweden.)

Here's the Guy on a Buffalo/BarrenWoman episode that we were laughing about that Christmas and which inspired the stocking.

Too funny! Still makes me laugh.